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Chicken and Corn Empanadas

A baked empanada filled with chicken, corn, onions, peppers, and cheese.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Pepper and oregano match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,449 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Chicken and Corn Empanadas

Serves 6
Oven400°F
Time25 to 30 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the filling

  1. In a large skillet, heat oil and lightly brown onions.

  2. Add pepper, crushed red pepper, corn, and oregano. Cook 5 minutes over moderate heat or until liquid has mostly cooked away.

  3. Remove from heat; stir in chicken and cheese, season to taste and chill.

Shape the empanadas

  1. Unroll crescent dough into two perforated squares.

  2. Place one square over the second square.

  3. Roll out with a little flour to form a single large rectangular sheet.

  4. Cut out four circles about 5 inches in diameter.

  5. Repeat with remaining package of rolls.

  6. Refrigerate circles on waxed paper until firm, about 30 minutes.

  7. Spoon ¼ cup filling into the center of each circle, leaving a 1‑inch border.

  8. Brush edges with egg mixture.

  9. Fold over to seal, stretching dough slightly.

  10. Press edges together while pushing out any air pockets.

  11. Seal by crimping with the tines of a fork.

  12. Brush top with egg wash. Prick with fork.

  13. Arrange empanadas on a buttered and floured baking sheet.

  14. Refrigerate until ready to bake, up to two days ahead of time.

Bake

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

  2. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until puffy and brown and filling is bubbling hot.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

646Calories
50 gProtein
34 gFat
38 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 12 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chicken100g cooked165
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Corn1/2 cup kernels (82g)77
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Red Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Pepper + oreganotop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Corn + oreganotop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together360 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  3. Onion + chickentop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,814 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

  4. Pepper + corntop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,324 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  5. Onion + oreganotop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,449 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Crescent rolls
Dough that bakes into a flaky, puffed shell around the filling.
Monterey jack cheese
Melts into the filling, binding it and adding richness.
Chicken
Provides the main protein and bulk of the filling.
Corn kernels
Add sweetness and texture to the filling.
Egg
Brushed on as a wash, it promotes browning on the baked shell.

The step that matters

Cook off the corn liquid. If liquid remains in the filling, it turns to steam in the oven and can make the dough soggy or burst the seal. Cooking it mostly away keeps the empanadas crisp and sealed.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pepper, corn, oregano, chicken, cheese, egg):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Tomatofits better
  3. Potatofits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pepper, corn, oregano, chicken, cheese, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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